Ready for a spring weekend

Dog life updates:

• Eden health update: The results of her blood work came back, and she does NOT have EPI! Hallelujah! But she DOES have a pretty serious case of giardia. So, clouds, but silver lining, because it’s not a debilitating lifelong condition. But giardia can be pretty tricky and resistant. She may have been harboring this since we adopted her, and the signs only recently became apparent to us. She’s on a treatment plan now, so here’s to hoping that her GI issues clear up and that she starts packing on the pounds! Eden will be 9 months old this weekend, and she should weigh about 55-60 lbs. She currently weighs 45 lbs. So, a lot to accomplish.
• On the brighter side, my in-laws and their pup Georgia are coming to visit for the weekend! Pyrrha and Georgia are great pals, but this will be Eden’s first time meeting her puppy “aunt.” If Edie doesn’t terrify Georgia, I think they will all be fast friends.
• We’ve been continuing with our new walking strategy to reduce reactivity. Guion now walks Pyrrha, and I take the lead with Eden. It’s been going very well, and I think Pyrrha is making improvement. I’m more relaxed on walks, and Pyrrha is also forming a stronger bond with Guion (listening to him, taking treats from him, following his lead, etc.).
• Regarding the garden: The dogs have been respecting the wire barriers around the forsythia and blackberries, and we are going to plant two apple trees in the yard this weekend. I am also feeling increasingly eager to build a hedge/visual barrier along that side of the fence. The numerous boy children are increasingly distracting to the dogs. AND I came out the other day to find one of the neighbor boys pointing a slingshot at Pyrrha while she was barking. OMG. I yelled at him, “EXCUSE ME??” And he dropped it and ran. So, yes. I am getting increasingly nervous, both about our dogs’ safety and Pyrrha’s ability to handle the stimulation/stress. So building a hedge is a top priority.

Happy Friday to you all! What’s been going on in your households lately?

One step closer: A house for May!

Backyard garden plots with the new house (fenced-in yard on the right).

I’ve been SO excited and relieved this week, because we have made our first big step toward adopting a dog: Moving!

We found a new place to rent and our lease will begin May 15. I cannot WAIT to move in!

Here are all of the reasons why this place is totally awesome for us and for our future dog:

1. Our landlord is a really cool young woman with three dogs herself (including her fiance’s blue heeler), so she’s totally dog friendly and fine with us having a dog! She is also a volunteer at the same SPCA that I volunteer at, which has been a neat connection. We definitely bonded over that when we met.
2. You can’t see it in the picture above, but the house comes with a sizable fenced-in yard, which I am thrilled about, because it is REALLY hard to find in this area.
3. Plus, the extensive garden plots are outside the fence, which means Guion can carry on gardening projects without being disturbed by the dog or worrying that the dog will tear them up.
4. It’s in the exact neighborhood we wanted: Calm, quiet, and easily walkable to downtown.
5. The house is a 6-minute drive from my current office. THEN, when my office moves to its new location in early 2013, I’ll be only a 15-minute WALK to the office. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.
6. The location of the house will also make it possible for me to leave work at lunch (my dog-loving boss has already given me approval for this) to come home and take the dog for a mid-day walk. I’m also hoping this will be a sell for the rescue agencies.
7. The house is also just a short walk away from our city’s greatest park: It’s 280 acres of wooded natural glory and it’s just a skip away from our location. The park and the surrounding trails, woven through by a beautiful river, are really dog friendly and I can’t wait to explore them with our future dog!
8. We can afford it! That’s the big one.

There are other reasons, I’m sure, but these are the significant ones that come to mind right now. I feel like I can breathe, having this big decision already made. The countdown to May 15 begins! 3 months, 1 week, and 5 days…